VHZ is a phosphatase that shares about 28% amino acid sequence identity with human PRL-PTPs. VHZ was previously reported to be expressed in many tissues and located in the cytosol and in nucleoli (Alonso et al., 2004a).
However, the role of VHZ was largely unknown; despite its conservation through evolution with orthologues in frogs, fish, fly, and the Archaea. VHZ, as well as VHR, belongs to a separate subgroup of VH1-like PTPs (Alonso et al, 2004b). VHR has been reported to have a function in regulating cell cycle progression (Rahmouni et al., 2006).
Cancer is a serious health problem across the world. It is estimated that 7.6 million people in the world died of cancer in 2007. In the UK for example, cancer is responsible for 126,000 deaths per year. One in four people die from cancer. Known treatments for cancer include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Many cancers can be cured if detected early enough.
There is a need for improved cancer detection and therapy.